A Thoughtful Redesign for a Mission That Matters

Els for Autism is a leading nonprofit supporting individuals with autism and their families through innovative programs, services, education, and recreation.

Green Group Studio refreshed a series of Els for Autism publication materials, including impact reports, event programs, adaptive aquatics manuals, and food service curriculum resources. Our work included publication design, visual system refinement, photo sourcing, retouching, print production prep, and creative direction to create a more polished, readable, and unified brand experience across materials.

With several long-form publications in development, Els for Autism needed more than one-off design updates. The materials required a flexible visual system that could support donor communications, event programming, educational curriculum, instructional manuals, and professional training resources.

GGS helped create a more intentional publication design language through refined typography, organized page structures, consistent section treatments, thoughtful use of imagery, and cleaner layouts. The result was a family of materials that better reflected both the heart and professionalism of the Els for Autism brand.

The 2025-2026 Annual Impact Report was designed as a polished print publication highlighting Els for Autism’s growth, community impact, financial position, leadership, research, recreation programs, and future-focused capital campaign. The report includes major organizational milestones, including the 10-year anniversary of The Els Center of Excellence campus and the groundbreaking of the Specialized Autism Friendly Recreation Complex.

GGS refined the report into a visually engaging donor-facing piece that balances storytelling, photography, statistics, leadership content, and campaign updates. The finished piece gives readers a clear, polished overview of the organization’s impact while maintaining an approachable and mission-driven feel.

The Ernie Els #GameON Autism Aquatics Comprehensive Manual is a 192-page digital publication supporting a structured aquatics curriculum for individuals with autism. The manual includes program overview content, teaching guidelines, water safety procedures, six levels of lessons, visual supports, assessments, certificates, and appendix materials.

Because of the depth and instructional nature of the content, GGS focused on creating a clear, easy-to-navigate layout system that could support a large volume of structured information. We followed the branding that was already established for the cover, and we designed all interior pages for the manual. The design needed to feel calm, consistent, and accessible while helping instructors move through detailed educational content with confidence.

The MARINO Adaptive Aquatics Certification Program Manual is a 68-page digital publication connected to instructor certification and adaptive aquatics training. The manual explains the program’s history, certification structure, instructor qualifications, safety considerations, legal issues, teaching methodologies, and the transition of program oversight to Els for Autism.

GGS approached this piece with a clean, professional visual style that respects the seriousness of water safety and instructor preparation while aligning the material with the Els for Autism brand. The layout system helps organize certification-related information in a way that feels structured, polished, and easier to follow.

The Food Service Industry Curriculum Part Two is a long-form educational publication for adults with autism spectrum disorder, with chapters covering topics such as nutrition, cooking techniques, salads, pizza and sandwiches, soups, stocks, sauces, desserts, and kitchen lab activities. The curriculum includes repeated instructional structures such as learning objectives, vocabulary words, guided notes, picture cues, assessments, task cards, and lab guides.

For this curriculum, GGS helped create a publication design system capable of handling detailed educational content across many pages while keeping the material organized and approachable. The design supports both instructional clarity and visual consistency, giving the curriculum a professional structure without making it feel overly dense.

The 2025 Golf Challenge Grand Finale Program is a 54-page print publication supporting the 15th Annual Golf Challenge Grand Finale. The program includes founder messages, event details, itinerary content, sponsors, honorary captains, community partners, affiliate events, the Golf Challenge story, and mission-focused features tied to the theme “Honor Our Legacy, Fuel Our Future.”

Els provided us with the Grand Finale cover design which provided inspiration to the design of the interior pages. GGS designed the program to feel elevated, celebratory, and event-ready, while still preserving the nonprofit’s mission-driven storytelling. The final print piece balances sponsor recognition, event logistics, photography, fundraising messaging, and the emotional significance of the organization’s work.